Reset search
MACKS MEANDER
  • Linda McKinlay

MACKS MEANDER

3 or 4 sleep till we head of on another Southern adventure. I'm hoping we'll get away Tuesday evening and maybe stay at Ardmore Wings. That way we won't have to fight the traffic on Wednesday morning. Doing the clothes pack today. Very excited. Read more
FollowInsightsCalendarShareShareBucket list
Newest first
  • Trip start
    February 10, 2024
    Linda McKinlayMACKS MEANDERTraveler

    Practice

    February 11, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌬 21 °C

    Hi all. Apologies. I'm 'in training' and practising so that when we set off, I'll know how to operate this app. Nothing to report other than 2 more sleeps cause Roger has agreed it's a good idea to set off on Tuesday after dinner.Read more

  • Linda McKinlayMACKS MEANDERTraveler

    OFF AND AWAY

    February 13, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌙 19 °C

    We're on our way. First stop Ardmore wings camp where at this time of the night it's very still and quiet. Expecting to be woken fairly early in the morning with lots of air activity. Zoom in and check out Roger's expression.Read more

  • Linda McKinlayMACKS MEANDERTraveler

    DAY TWO

    February 14, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Velentines day but no roses for me :( Did start the day well though with freshly rosted coffee at our new favorite on the road stop. Hampton Downs motor sport cafe. Tonight Turangi Wings

  • Linda McKinlayMACKS MEANDERTraveler
    1

    DAY THREE

    February 15, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌬 20 °C

    First leg of journey completed. Though won't feel like our tour proper has started till we reach southern soil. Turangi was a good stop. Having the 3 stops means less driving time between which suits 'The Driver.' There are only 2 things to mention from today. One being the very inconsiderate rude driver of a big white truck who cut us off dangerously at the end of passing lanes on 2 occasions. Horrid man!!! The other being 'Vivs Kitchen' lunch stop. 'The Driver' being not so keen on creamed horns chose instead a chocolate creamed oyster. 'Tour Leader' is guarding her waistline so declined both. Now at Plimmerton Wings. Ps. Isn't the expressway all the way from Otaki great.Read more

  • Linda McKinlayMACKS MEANDERTraveler

    DAY FOUR

    February 17, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    I do apologize for not writing last night. I know at least one of you missed me! For some reason I had no phone connection although Roger did.
    Pretty straight forward drive into the city Friday morning and fairly quick boarding of the Ferry.
    Ate our Musli while waiting in the que.. Grants blogs always mention food, so I must put a plug in for the bakery in Picton. We arrived a bit chilled after cold air conditioning on the boat and decided a pie for lunch was in order. Steak and kidney for Driver and Steak, Kidney, Mushroom and Bacon
    for Tour Leader. I know pretty Gourmet aye. Anyway it was what came after that was the highlight. BOMBALINOS. Very highly recommend if you havent already been spoilt with one of these, very light, lemon custard filled sugar donuts. Yum yum. No thought to the waistline while devouring that delight. Eaten sitting in the sun on the beach front in the marina. Imagine it. I forgot the photo.    Read more

  • Linda McKinlayMACKS MEANDERTraveler

    Whats upp?

    February 17, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Wait for me!!!!

  • Linda McKinlayMACKS MEANDERTraveler
    1

    DAY FIVE

    February 17, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌙 19 °C

    Spent last night at Wings Koromiko and what a treat, no trains, no trucks lumbering past and no vans starting up with people driving of in the middle of the night. A beautiful peaceful spot. Loved the trees and grass. This morning we drove into Blenheim and are staying at the race course for two nights. We went to the Omaka Aviation Museum and recommend it to anyone who hasn't been. Its got amazing stories and restored aircraft from both wars and the displays are very realistic. Some by Peter Jackson. The red plane photo is a diarama of when The Red Baron (as in Snoopys Christmas) was shot down and killed. In the afternoon we visited the Wairau Lagoons but unfortunately they were just dry cracked mud with the lack of rain. So not very interesting at all. We plan to cycle tomorrow .Read more

  • Linda McKinlayMACKS MEANDERTraveler

    DAY SIX

    February 18, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    Today have done a grueling 57km ride from Blenheim to Seddon and return of course. Bit disappointing because a lot of it was on sealed back country roads not an off road route that we were expecting. A good 6k plus was up and over a fairly steep long windy gravelly road. Then just as we were having fun it changed to a tedious long flat sealed service road for the vineyards. The upside is we proved there's still life in the old bodies so that is satisfying. Another night at the racecourse. Ps. Photo 1. Follow the rd to see how far we road up hill. Photo 2. Where's The Driver? Photo 3 Pheww here he comes!Read more

  • Linda McKinlayMACKS MEANDERTraveler

    DAY SEVEN

    February 19, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌬 26 °C

    Woke this morning to a bit of a 'oh no' moment. No water, no gas and all because no power of course. Seemed charging 2 bike batteries which were almost flat and spending that same night under a tree wasn't a good idea. Luckily plenty of sun this morning so once The Driver roused himself we moved into a sunny spot and all sorted really quickly. Phewwww. Driver doesn't like frights like that. Super windy today so decided not to ride the river trail but did a 4km return walk to the supermarket instead. Returned via the beautiful Pollard gardens. On the way to Ward Beach where we are now, we did a detour past the Grassmere salt salt works. Fascinating to think those mountains of salt may soon be on my dinner table. We've done the beach walk to see the round bolders and I'm now sitting in the cab on 🐬 watch.Read more

  • Linda McKinlayMACKS MEANDERTraveler

    DAY EIGHT

    February 20, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    Thus is the view from our bed this morning. Stunning. What a privilege and so grateful to the farmer who has made this space available. You don't get views like this when you tour using regular camping grounds and motels. More to follow.Read more

  • Linda McKinlayMACKS MEANDERTraveler

    DAY EIGHT X 2

    February 20, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    Woke this morning to rain, strong winds, raging 🌊 and a huge drop on temperature. From 29 degrees yesturday to 11 degrees . Decided to come to Kaikoura for a night as we needed to top up the pantry, gas bottle, buy cheap fuel and use the laundry. After a week on the road it was also time for some house hold chores!!! So no pretty pics for you tonight but I hope you enjoy my humour 😉Read more

  • Linda McKinlayMACKS MEANDERTraveler

    DAY NINE

    February 21, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌙 14 °C

    We are now at Conway Flat (40km from Kaikoura) with stunning views and dolphin entertainment. 🐬 yep they performed for us , doing flips and splashing around. Shame they were too far out to photograph 📸 This beach is completely different to Ward. No rocks here just gritty black sand. Still not suitable for swimming as very steep and big dumping waves. Also rather chillier water than Orewa Beach. The land owner/farmer very kindly came round a while ago with a bucket of home grown nectarines he was sharing around. Taste much nicer than our bought ones. 😋 We feel so privileged to be able to stay at places like this and Ward Beach due to the generosity of the owners. And it's certainly one of the advantages of traveling 'self contained' photo 1. The Driver on Dolphin watch. 2. There's always laundry . 3 & 4 Wow the view!!! Tomorrow Torlesse Winery Waipara ValleyRead more

  • Linda McKinlayMACKS MEANDERTraveler
    1

    DAY TEN

    February 22, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    Conway Flat to Kaiapoi. Woke at 7am to our 'no gas' alarm going off. Lucky we have 2 bottles and lucky also as it meant we got to see this gorgeous sunrise. Had a walk along the beach before packing up and saw dolphins in quite close. 2 of them jumped together which looked real cool but no chance of a photo as they are too quick. A decent sized seal was sunning itself on the beach causing us to pass by warily. Took a secondary road for a change of scenery. Stopped at Waiau and did a river walk picking and eating blackberries along the way. Very historic area so we read the pictorial sign boards around town. Went to an old pub advertising great coffee and had a Not great coffee. Served by an older man with long greasy hair. That should have been a tell tale sign. Rotherham school was selling sweet corn so we got some for our dinner. Last stop was bustling Culverdon where we had lunch and I broused an art and craft shop. Decided to bypass the winery where we're were going to stay and come straight here. Today is the anniversary of the big earthquake.Read more

  • Linda McKinlayMACKS MEANDERTraveler

    DAY ELEVEN

    February 23, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    A day getting to know Kaiapoi. It has really impressed us as a town. Very pretty and neat with lots of colourful council gardens and of course having the river flow through the town center adds extra interest, especially to us water lovers. This afternoon we did a rather nice 2hr bike ride. A lot of it along the Waimakiriri River where they do jet boating. Tomorrow a full day ride through several towns and villages.
    So here's a few pics from our walk about. Note the sign above the loos.    Read more

  • Linda McKinlayMACKS MEANDERTraveler

    DAY TWELVE

    February 24, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    Nothing much for you tonight. Spent most of the day cycling 53km of Waimakiriri Eastern Cycle Trails. Starting at 9.15am from camp through Pines Kairaki Beach, Woodend Beach, Pegasus (coffee break), Waikuku Beach, Rangiora then home 2pm for a well deserved lunch and cuppa. Sound impressive? Actually it was a really good ride with lots of trail surface variation and scenery. Riding through Rangiora township was a bit challenging as heaps of traffic and little in the way of instruction on our trail map or signage. Still The Driver managed to guide us through and home admirably. Tour Leader just followed along sweetly. No photos todayRead more

  • Linda McKinlayMACKS MEANDERTraveler

    DAY THIRTEEN

    February 25, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Just back from sharing a lovely dinner at the RSA with Carol. Real nice to see her, catch up on family news and share ours. Just a very leisurely day today. A walk for coffee this morning and another this afternoon to take more photos. Walked through the community garden opposite our camp site where The Driver picked himself an apple. Tour Leader was busy admiring the artwork, even on the compost bins. On the move tomorrow. Have to visit a motorhome store on the other side of ChCh for a spare part so have decided to spend a night at Weedons. (Wings site)Read more

  • Linda McKinlayMACKS MEANDERTraveler

    DAY FOURTEEN

    February 26, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    A day of chores and moving location. From beautiful Kaiapoi to the dry brown paddock of Weedons (wings) for one night only. Made use of the clothes line here. Quite sorry to leave Kaiapoi as the town captured our hearts rather. On the way out of town we stopped and got a wee pile of goodies from Hellers factory shop. Oh my gosh such good prices. Our wee haul was only $20. One of the nice things about moving around like we are is you meet some really interesting and inspiring people. Like the dear 84yr old lady driving her campervan all the way from Kerri Kerri to Oamaru to her son's place for his birthday. All by herself. And shes had some challenges along the way too, one neading a panel beater. She's got 6 kids and had 23 foster children. What a gem.Read more

  • Linda McKinlayMACKS MEANDERTraveler

    DAY FIFTEEN

    February 27, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    Left Weedons this morning and first stop was the famous Darfield bakery for coffee and to top up our snack stash. Driving to Whitecliffs through rural Canterbury we passed Glen Tunnel with its tiny library. On arrival at Whitecliffs domain we discover that there actually wasn't drinking water as we had believed there would be and our tank was dry. So a quick rethink brought us to Lake Coleridge. The site of nzs first and still operating hydro power station. But between Whitecliffs and Coleridge was a stop at Washpen Falls. A 40min uphill haul then down to the very high waterfall. I made good use of dads walking pole to help me on some of the tricky uneven surfaces. The walk back being downhill and flatish was very pleasant. The birdsong and the sound of trickling streams awsome. About 90mins in total with lots of photo stops. We were so lucky to have cloud cover for this walk not bright scorching sun. It's very quiet here and I think our first day I think with NO wind. Will explore the walks tomorrow. Ps. You'll receive this a day late as no internet here.Read more

  • Linda McKinlayMACKS MEANDERTraveler

    DAY SIXTEEN

    February 28, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    We've moved from Lake Coleridge to Ashburton
    and have the wind back, bother. Actually Coleridge was a bit of a disappointment in that the lake wasn't near the village. However we enjoyed learning the history of the place and had a nice walk where we got a beautiful view (The Driver sitting on the bench) of the stunningly braided Rakaia River and surrounding ski fields minus snow. Lake Coleridge is an inland lake feeding the Coleridge power station
    The very first hydro power station in nz. (1914). The wee village seems to be mostly holiday homes, I guess for skiers and fishing people, and some power station staff of which there are only 6 these days. Tour Leader was quite keen to see this lake, so The Driver checked out the list of walks , of which there are plenty, and found one to the Inlet for the power station. Over 3hrs to do 10km. A big 30min vertical climb to start with, then an up hill slog on a very gravelly road. Not nice and I didn't enjoy. Still it wasn't hot and coming back to the motorhome was a breeze. Plenty tired tonight and some achey bits. Look for me way down the track by the big pipes to the power station and note how steep. That's just the start.    Read more

  • Linda McKinlayMACKS MEANDERTraveler

    DAY SEVENTEEN

    February 29, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌙 15 °C

    Woke to a drizzly miserable morning so time for jeans and jumper for our morning excursion. Took a drive to Lake Hood in time for coffee. This is a beautiful man made recreational lake and housing development very similar to Pegasus. (ChCh) Then a stop at Mitre 10 for some window cleaner and to Noel Leeming for binoculars (Sharon.) The sun came out for our visit to the gorgeous Trott gardens. Really enjoyed our wander there under the many gorgeous mature/large trees. The lovely wee chapel was moved to Trotts in two pieces from another site. Cycling tomorrow.Read more

  • Linda McKinlayMACKS MEANDERTraveler

    DAY EIGHTEEN

    March 1, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    Ashburton/ Hakatere River Trail (19m one way) easy walk or cycle. The trail meanders through riverside willows and past farm land. Sounds lovely doesnt it. Well that's how the information read. In fact finding the start of the trail was the first challenge and then it was one challenge after the other. The info didn't mention the broken trees hanging over the track or the many patches of thick gravel or that in places it was quite narrow, and about 3km riding on a gravel road. Never mind the lack of signage making guesswork, the help from a very friendly local cyclist and crossed fingers the way to arrive at the destination. 55km and 4hr 30min arrived back at motorhome after having ridden about 12km on a tarsealed road coming back to by pass some yucky bits. Anyway both Driver and Leader managed to stay on the saddle, keep their bikes upright and survived another difficult challenge. Oh by the way Hakatere Beach was beautiful.Read more

  • Linda McKinlayMACKS MEANDERTraveler

    DAY NINETEEN

    March 2, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    Arrived Woodbury (near Geraldine) about 10.45 and first stop was the recommended Cafe for a very nice coffee and a very large (shared) super yummy' mixed berry muffin, made on site. One of the best I've had. Woodbury is a very pretty, well maintained historic village. This afternoon we took a strole around the few streets taking photos as we went, which I have shared. Also we are staying in the local domain which has a lovley 15min bush walk around 3 sides. Hense the large tree shot. Apparently it's 27 degrees, so I hope it cools overnight for our day walking in Peel Forest.Read more

  • Linda McKinlayMACKS MEANDERTraveler
    1

    Breakfast

    March 3, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    You're getting an extra from me this morning as I'm sooo excited to share our yummy breakfast with you. :) This Cafe was once the town general store and was built from timber milled from trees felled from the site. I enjoy reading about the history of the off the beaten track small towns we visit.Read more

  • Linda McKinlayMACKS MEANDERTraveler

    DAY TWENTY ALREADY

    March 3, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    Left Woodbury and drove to Peel Forest in drizzly conditions. Good for walking. Very beautiful with a huge chorus of birdsong. The bush always comes alive after a bit of rain. The colour pops and everything looks fresh and alive, just how I like it. Only did a couple of fairly easy walks on account of the dampness but still enjoyed. 1. Bye bye Woodbury 2. Spot the photo bomber 3. Our tracks 4. Beautiful NZ bush. 5 & 6. The BIG tree 7. Pheeewww those steps 8. It's really waterRead more

  • Linda McKinlayMACKS MEANDERTraveler

    Lessons learnt

    March 3, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    1. If you think "we should take the bikes off the motorhome and ride up there and see where it goes" you should do it! 2. When leaving a spot ALWAYS look behind or have the Leader check before getting into the cab. In Whitecliffs Domain where we stopped for a break we left our rubber door mat.
    In Weedons (ChCh) we left Leaders precious bright yellow folding 20 litre bucket. We were asked to leave a bucket of water in front of our vehicles on account of the fire risk. We must have driven right over it. Dumb!!!!!    Read more

  • 2025© FindPenguins
  • Home
  • About us
  • Group Tracking
  • Press
  • Terms
  • Privacy Policy & Cookies
  • Help Center
  • Legal notice